Top 10 Geekiest Music Videos Of All Time

The geek have officially inherited the Earth, as was prophesied in Psalms 37:7 (more or less) so many bearded men ago. It’s a fairly recent thing, having happened somewhere between Google’s ascent to ubiquity, the second installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the eyebrow-raising popularity of Weird Al’s White & Nerdy. And since history is told by the victor, I figured I should try rounding up the soundtrack to geeks’ most epic of victories.

Music videos are made to appeal to non-geek masses, but some were made by some bigtime nerds—while others are just are unmistakeably nerdy. You already know where we’re going with this, so let’s just move.

10. Ramble On – Led Zeppelin

ou’re listening to one of the greatest songs by the best band of all time, maybe for the first time, maybe for the five hundredth. You’re vaguely aware that it’s about wandering around, that it involves a girl, and that it’s as mind-blowingly brilliant as everything from the factory of Led. But this time you decide to actually pay attention to the lyrics. And you’re about 3/4ths through the songs when it hits. Mordor? Gollum? Evil one? This whole song takes place in Middle Earth?!? I’ve seen the resulting grin at least three times, usually while driving around with a buddy. And it’s always ear to ear. Geekgasmic.

9. The Neverending Story Theme

So many of us second-wave geeks can trace our choice to go geek right back to this moment. Its 1984, we’ve spent the last six years caught up in Star Wars euphoria, the NES is right around the corner, and this movie/song drops. Reading wouldn’t be this cool to kids again for twenty-odd years, until a certain bespectacled wizard showed up on the scene. But for this formative moment in so many of our lives, being geeky meant getting to ride huge schnauzer-snouted dragons, chasing douchebags into dumpsters, and skipping school to hang out in creepy attics instead. What choice was there, really?

8. MC Frontalot’s Entire Ouevre

7. Grow Up – Random

In a just world where MCs were judged solely by their skills, Random would sit on top of the heap. I’m blown away by everything Raheem does, because whatever he touches turns sublime. However, this song captures 21st Century Geekitude better than just about any other.

6. Through the Fire and the Flames

The retconned soundtrack to absolutely every epic fantasy battle, whether in book, movie, or in your friendly neighborhood D&D campaign. Nothing tops this song in terms of heroic bombast- the next time you have to do battle against a horde of orcs, you know exactly what you’re blasting from that boombox on your (plate-mailed) shoulder. If any single song has become the (fantasy) geek rallying cry, this is the one.

5. The Legend of Zelda Theme

Did Koji Kondo have any idea of what he was unleashing on the world in 1986? A song that would be imitated, covered and worshipped by geeks until the end of time? The most epic song that could be cranked out of an 8-bit system? This is the theme song to so many geeks’ lives (and/or their ring tone of choice)- its place in the history books is more than secure. And damn it makes for a thousand sweet electric guitar solos on YouTube.

4. White & Nerdy / Dare to Be Stupid – Weird Al

The undisputed king of geek music- I could get away with putting 5-9 of his songs on this list. Whether you consider White & Nerdy or Dare to Be Stupid the anthem is almost purely a generational thing. Either way, they’re huge, they’re catchy as all hell, and they attract tons of weird looks when you belt them in the supermarket aisles. And to add to its geek pedigree, Dare to Be Stupid was in the original Transformers: the Movie soundtrack. Ba weep grana weep nini bong!

3. Meganerd – YTCracker

Were I to base this list only on geekiness, and discount popularity, this would be my #1 song- no contest. The beats, flow and artistry are all top notch, but it’s the lyrics that get top honors.

2. In the Garage – Weezer

1. The Touch – Stan Bush

I hope to God that some smart Hollywood exec realizes how much money they’d make if they re-released the original Transformers movie to theaters. Maybe even in 3D. If this ever happened, I have to imagine that this song would cause the theaters to spontaneously combust out of sheer win factor, or at least cause communal heart attacks and rigor mortis smiles all over the world. This is one for the ages.

What did I miss? let me know through your comments !!!

Tags: Music